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Above the Fold
NYC 70s Flashback … And It’s Not Disco
New York City is staring down a $9 billion deficit over the next couple years brought on by the pandemic. The Big Apple now faces some very tough financial and social decisions that could bring layoffs for tens of thousands of government workers if a fiscal solution isn’t revealed. Unfortunately, job cuts for city workers like police, fire and social workers would likely exacerbate the city’s growing problems in the near term as crime continues to rise, rents drop and apartment vacancies increase.
Governor Cuomo has appointed several allies to the New York State Financial Control Board, which was created in 1975 to save the city from bankruptcy. Many experts see similar risks today which would mean this board is likely to go from a “review” type stance to a more controlling role like it did 45 years ago. Some believe that a diverse board, consisting of members not connected to a particular political agenda, could provide real, actionable solutions to an increasingly dire situation.
- Can GPT-3 Beat the SAT? – An artificial intelligence system called Generative Pre-trained Transformer, third generation (GPT-3) continues to astonish the tech community. The software has the ability to write stories, letters and even investment memos that appear to be penned by the hand of experts. It also can solve the old SAT analogy questions better than most applicants.
- TikTok Sues Trump Administration – In an ironic twist, TikTok parent ByteDance, which was founded and based in communist China, confirmed that it will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging his executive order to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations by Nov. 12. The company claims the order deprives it of due process.
- Fannie and Freddie Tack on Another Mortgage “Junk Fee” – Perhaps the biggest saving grace for consumers has been record-low interest rates on home loans. But while consumers dash to refinance, mortgage-buying giants are working to shore up their balance sheets by adding a new 0.5% surcharge to most (refinance) mortgages starting next month. Experts say the new fee will be the equivalent of a 0.125% hike in interest rate, and several lawmakers have opposed the timing of the move.
Did You Know?
What’s Up With That Little Pocket in Your Jeans?
While you can’t fit much of anything in that little extra pocket in many pairs of jeans, there was a very specific purpose for it back in the day. Levi Strauss & Co. developed the first pair of riveted jeans back in 1879, with just four pockets. One pocket came standard in the back, along with two regular size pockets and a small inner pouch in the front to store your pocket watch. Today, the pocket is more style than function.
And even though denim pants were already in use by laborers, Levi realized that natural indigo coloring had less “tacky” properties that would allow the fibers and some of the color to soften and dissipate after use and washing (making them increasingly comfortable) — this is why most jeans are blue.


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Sonic Frontiers’ director, Morio Kishimoto has confirmed today on Twitter that the final touches for the game are completed. Meaning that the game will soon be ready for printing and shipping.
All hardware master-up is complete!Morio Kishimoto
We were not able to implement all of your feedback, but we did everything we could until just before the deadline.
Now, with a sense of relief, I am a little sad. After all, we worked on it for five years.
Now! It’s time to start the next job!
Kishimoto -san has already moved on to the next Sonic game, stay tuned when that is eventually announced!
Sonic Frontiers releases on November 8th, 2022, stay tuned for more updates as they come!

domain: news


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American consumers ring up $17 billion in new credit card debt in second quarter
There has been plenty of talk about economic momentum in this country.
But however folks want to define the state of recovery from the Great Recession they need to keep in mind the fact that Americans continue to pile up incredible debt.
CardHub.com has released its Q2 2013 Credit Card Debt Study. The findings are, well, disturbing.
U.S. consumers incurred more than $17 billion in new credit card debt during the second quarter of this year. In doing so, they managed to erase more than 50 percent of the first-quarter pay down of previous debt.
CardHub officials say this pay-down, ring-up pattern has been consistent since at least 2008. However, those same officials add that the amount of debt that U.S. consumers incurred during the second quarter of 2013 is 75 percent higher than the 2010 total and 80 percent higher than the debt level in 2009.
CardHub is projecting that consumers will end the year with roughly $41.2 billion in new credit card debt.
The average household now owes an average of nearly $6,700 to credit card lenders. Furthermore, U.S. consumers have charged-off on more than a quarter of a trillion dollars since the beginning of 2009.
“Consumers routinely begin the year with a first-quarter credit card debt pay down, followed by three consecutive quarterly increases. In that sense, 2013 appears to be no different than years past,” says Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of personal finance web sites CardHub.com and WalletHub.com. “However, the fact that charge-off rates are near record lows is significant, as it indicates that consumers are no longer leveraging credit card debt in order to meet basic needs during times of financial hardship. Instead, habitual over-leveraging now seems to be a choice.
W. Scott Bailey covers health care, tourism, sports business, economic development; he also plans and edits some special reports.
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Economy | January 19th 2022
Omicron is not a game-changer for the global economic recovery.
Economy | January 14th 2022
Growth of financing and countries implementing existing pledges will dominate 2022 as energy prices limit new ambition.
Economy | December 16th 2021
The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus could be a game-changer for the pandemic, but so far we remain optimistic.
Economy | November 26th 2021
Easing supply chains will hamper price growth of base metals, while steady demand will prevent a free fall.
Economy | November 25th 2021
The economy, inflation, China and the mid-terms will be Biden’s main priorities during his second year as president.
Economy | November 17th 2021
A sustained rise in inflation represents the main risk to the global economic recovery.
Economy | October 27th 2021
Prices will remain at about US$85/barrel until early 2022 and only ease gradually from the second quarter of the year.
Economy | October 20th 2021
Inflation remains the primary economic risk to the global outlook, especially with the sharp rise in energy prices.
Economy | October 1st 2021
Steady demand for nickel has boosted prices, exacerbated by supply-chain shocks, leading to record-low stock levels.
Economy | September 14th 2021
A sustained rise in inflation poses a risk to the global recovery.


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Disney Studios has hired former Netflix marketing executive René Ridinger to lead a newly formed awards marketing and PR team at the studio.
The new awards team encompasses publicity, creative and media and will handle film and episodic content across all labels within Disney Studios Content, including Disney Live Action, Disney Animation, Pixar Animation, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios. The awards team at Searchlight Pictures will remain in-house at the indie distribution branch.
Ridinger has been named VP of Awards and will lead the team that also includes Nikki Adler, serving as director of awards, and Samy Gaballa, who will be creative arts director for the awards team. Ridinger and Gaballa start in their roles on July 18. Adler joined in June.
The team is seated under Michelle Sewell, EVP, Global Publicity, as part of the marketing team led by the Studios’ president of Marketing Asad Ayaz.
At Netflix, Ridinger led documentary publicity campaigns for films such as “My Octopus Teacher,” “American Factory,” “The Social Dilemma,” “Crip Camp,” “Dick Johnson Is Dead” and “Tiger King.” She also worked closely with talent on Netflix deals, including Shondaland, the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, Ryan Murphy Productions and David Fincher. Prior to Netflix, Ridinger spent two decades as an agency publicist, including stints with Smith and Company, MPRM Communications and 42West.
Adler joins Disney from Strategy PR and will oversee awards publicity, guild and event strategy. At Strategy PR, Adler led campaigns for studio clients including Disney Studios Content, Amazon Studios, Focus Features, Hulu, Apple TV+ and Sony Pictures on titles such as “West Side Story” and Best Picture winner “CODA.” Prior to Strategy PR, she was at Slate PR.
Gaballa is a 20-year Disney veteran and will spearhead all awards-related creative.


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A new video for System Shock Remastered has been released to tease PS4 players.
Although this has been released for console owners to get all moist over, the footage is actually taken from a pre-alpha version on the PC. It’s a cunning ploy to make console owners think they are watching a PS4 version if they miss the small print.
The Kickstarter campaign still has seven days to run and it;s already 100k over the 900k goal. I guess gamers want System Shock. Here’s the video so just enjoy it.


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Last year, Fitbit inflicted upon us, the public at large, the ugliest smartwatch from a company that should know better. The Fitbit Blaze had great battery life and... that was it. Then, late last year, Fitbit acquired a lot of tech and assets from Pebble, the lauded smartwatch company that found itself murdered by the public’s distinct lack of interest in smartwatches.
Now, according to Yahoo Finance, Fitbit is hard at work on a new smartwatch, and it’s run into so many issues the company has been forced to delay it.
The fitness tracker company’s smartwatch project has been a troubled one. Production problems have forced Fitbit to push an original spring launch to this fall, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Despite all that Pebble knowhow, Fitbit has apparently run into big problems making the new smartwatch waterproof, and it’s also had issues with GPS. “In one of the more final prototypes, the GPS wasn’t working because the antennae wasn’t in the right place,” Yahoo’s source said.
More importantly, however, Yahoo’s source had nothing nice to say about the look of the watch. “It was very retro-looking with the lines and stuff—definitely not sexy,” they said. Yahoo Finance corroborated that assessment after reportedly seeing the presentation deck that retailers like Best Buy and Target would have seen when Fitbit shopped the watch around.
That deck revealed a general design aesthetic that resembles a product in the company’s current product line: the Blaze.
It’s a shame the new watch will be so ugly when (if) it launches. As the source says, the watch will offer the ability to stream Pandora sans phone, have a 1,000 nits display—that’s on par with the Apple Watch and twice as bright as most smartphones—and, crucially, last four days on a charge.
Battery life has been a major factor in holding the smartwatch back from wider adoption, so a device that can do all the normal cool smartwatch stuff and last longer that a smartphone would be spectacular. But not if it’s as ugly as the Blaze.
When reached for comment, Fitbit gave us the same statement it gave Yahoo:
We know there is a lot of interest in our entry into the smartwatch category. We don’t have news to share at this time and do not comment on rumors or speculation.
If you’ve seen the watch or know anything further about its supposedly troubled development, reach out at email@example.com.


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Hard-up Kodak is selling its consumer film, scanner and photo kiosk businesses as part of a restructuring.
Chief executive Antonio Perez announced the news on Thursday, saying Kodak was shedding its personalised imaging and document imaging units as part of restructuring to help the company exit US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013.
Source: The Register. Read full article. (link)


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Despite projecting a dictum of non-aligned movement, and maintaining ‘strategic autonomy’ India’s inclusion in various multilateral alliances is unprecedented.
India has increasingly benefited from bilateral as well as multilateral relations, it has developed over the years.
It is a member of various alliances. Like that of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), which includes the United States, Australia, Japan and India.
India is going to be part of a new bloc I2 U2, which also includes Israel, the United States and UAE.
India has adroitly developed mutually beneficial bilateral relations with various countries by transitioning them into trade ties.
India has Free Trade Agreements with 11 countries, including economic giants like the United States and Australia.
It is also in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Israel as well. India has preferential market access and economic cooperation agreements with over fifty countries.
Whereas Pakistan has Free Trade Agreements only with three countries, Sri Lanka, China and Malaysia.
India’s ‘Act Asia’ policy opened up India with the eastern countries. Singapore was the top investor in India in the fiscal year 2021 with 15.7 billion dollars of investment.
In pursuance of ‘Act Asia’ policy, India concluded Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN countries, Japan and Korea.
Indian exports to Korea alone stands at 8 billion dollars. Most interestingly, despite targeting Muslim minority within, India is vigorously improving its relations with Muslim countries, including Afghanistan.
India is the first country to conclude a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan in 2011.
In post-US withdrawal scenario, India is keenly looking at developments in Afghanistan and is fervent to establish relations with the country.
It facilitated regional dialogue on Afghanistan in 2021 to bring all stakeholders on the table. China and subsequently Pakistan did not take part in the moot.
Other than Afghanistan, India is successfully engaged in terms of trade with various Muslim countries.
Indian exports to Saudi Arabia are nearly 8 billion dollars. Its exports to Iraq is of 2 billion dollars, with UAE it’s 28 billion dollars, Bangladesh, 16 billion dollars, Qatar 1 billion dollars, Nigeria, four billion dollars, Malaysia, six billion dollars and Indonesia, eight billion dollars, respectively.
In comparison, Pakistan’s major trading partners in Muslim countries are Indonesia and Afghanistan.
India is maintaining its ‘strategic autonomy’ in its relations with all countries. Notwithstanding the pressure from the United States, India is astutely maintaining its relations with Iran also, an antagonizing Muslim country for Saudis as well as the United States.
In early June, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited India. On the contrary, in the first week of July, India will take part in maiden summit of I2 U2 along with UAE, Israel and the United States.
On one point of time it is engaging with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States and on another it is solidifying relations with Iran.
India is the only country to get a waiver from sanctions on Iran, in order to buy oil. This shows India’s success in diversifying its relations and keeping the ability to proceed internationally on its own terms.
Likewise, India has enduring relations with Russia. Its exports to Russia nears three billion dollars. And according to Reuters, Russia remained top supplier of crude oil to India in April 2022.
Despite the fact that European Union and the United States are vehemently opposing Russia on the matter of Ukraine, India has openly expressed its reluctance to do so.
India abstained from the United Nations vote to remove Russia from Human Rights Council and various other procedural votes against it.
Ironically, the West, including the United States accepts this stringent behaviour of India vis-a-vis its relations with Russia and Iran.
In a recent press conference, the Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Mr.
Ned Price clearly stated “US has sought a partnership with India, has sought to be a partner of choice for India, including when it comes to the reality realm”.
And he said that the US has made clear to “our Indian partners that we are there for them, we are ready and able and willing to partner with them, and we’ve done just that.
” Even China is keen to have working relations with India. China has been largest trading partner of India, other than the United States.
India and China bilateral trade reached 31.96 billion dollars which increased to about 15 percent from the previous year.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s trade with China, which is Pakistan’s largest trading partner stood at just 1.9 billion dollars in 2020.
India has transitioned from a protectionist country to a global trading partner. It has improved the procedures of doing business in the country.
In a report prepared by World Bank, Ease of Doing Business, India stands at 63rd position. Pakistan is at 108th position, out of 188 countries.
India had attracted Foreign Direct Investment of around 572 billion US dollars in the previous year.
The question arises that why the countries are eager to establish security and economic relations with India.
The answer to this question is two pronged. First, India appears to be an eligible country that can be ‘prepared’ against the Chinese economic expansion which threatens the Western order.
Therefore, the United States and the Western countries are more than willing to establish security and economic relations with India.
Secondly, various countries that are to invest in India, irrespective of the global competition, are investing because of investment friendly procedures and political stability in the country.
For investment to take root, stability is the first prerequisite. In order to generate economic activity, the internal capacity constituting stability and investment friendly mechanism, needs to be built.
With stability within, India is now on the road to become third biggest economy.
(Courtesy Pakistan Observer)


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Not everyone can whip up amazing 3D cappuccino and latte art. Heck, the vast majority of us can't. But we still want to enjoy cute characters peeking up at us out of a steaming cup of java. Good thing there's this.
Kotaku · Brian Ashcraft
Battlegrounds producer Chang-han Kim reportedly told Inven, “There is something called ‘Game Preview’ on Xbox One. It’s like…
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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Shocker: Not Everyone Wants to Get the 2020 iPhone SE
Apple has recently launched the new iPhone SE, which contrary to rumors isn’t called iPhone 9, and just as expected, the excitement around the world isn’t necessary at record levels.
Living proof is a poll conducted on Chinese social site Weibo and highlighted by Reuters, which shows that over 60 percent of the respondents aren’t interested in the new Apple smartphone.
Approximately 350,000 people participated in the study.
And the reason for staying away from the 2020 iPhone SE is as simple as it could be. The device doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the table and is often considered outdated in terms of looks, as it’s entirely based on the iPhone 8 that came out… (read more)


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New Galt business brews special-needs controversy
Special Ed’s Brewery excoriated for insensitive name, product labels
Testing the old adage that any publicity is good publicity, a new Galt business called Special Ed’s Brewery attracted immediate condemnation for its bad-taste approach to special-needs conditions.
Owner Ed Mason told SN&R he got the nickname “Special Ed” back in 2002 from his construction coworkers. When he decided to turn his home-brewing operation into a business, he says someone suggested he name the start-up after his nickname.
“I mean, everyone is taking this way out of context,” he said Sunday. “We have a couple adults in our family like that and we love them dearly. They have an extra chromosome and they’re right—that’s the love chromosome.”
Meanwhile, images of his products, appearing on the business’ Facebook page, only ramped up the controversy. One label for an IPA sported the tag line, “’Tard tested, ’tard approved.’” Another beer was named the “Back of the Bus Brown Ale.” And a Special Ed’s Brewery t-shirt featured a cartoon image of a short yellow school bus with a screaming person in the window.
Mason apologized for the IPA label, saying it was an inappropriate family joke never intended to appear on any products. As for the brown ale’s name, he believed it wasn’t racist because, he said, the name was suggested by an African-American acquaintance.
Such qualifications—and a Facebook disclaimer explaining the company’s “twisted take” as “tongue in cheek”—did little to dispel the outrage the company has received since people became aware of it Sunday. The Facebook page drew more than 440 reviews in less than 24 hours—94 percent of which were for one star, the lowest permitted on Facebook.
“Hey there, you don’t know me, but that didn’t stop you from making fun of children like my son,” wrote Facebook user Yvonne Risinger Wojtalik. “Don’t try to walk it back by claiming it’s ‘tongue in cheek.’ That’s the kind of shit bullies say when they get called out, and it’s cowardly.”
Most reviewers excoriated the business and its owners for being alternately tone-deaf or cruel when it comes to the stigma that those with developmental challenges face. Others encouraged boycotts and letters of complaint to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and city of Galt.
In a written statement emailed to SN&R, Galt City Manager Eugene M. Palazzo said owners Ed and Cheryl Mason had complied with the city’s fee and zoning requirements and were issued a business license on May 26.
“In this situation, the City does not have the legal ability to regulate the name of a business or control the manner in which the business chooses to market its products and services,” Palazzo wrote.
Mason, who said he still needs to submit architectural plans to the city before opening for business, told SN&R on Sunday that he was deliberately staying out of the social media controversy.
The company page offered to change its name hours later.
“So after talking with my wife, would more people be happy with the name Ed’s Special Brewery or Ed’s Special Brew?” the post read. “I never wanted the intent to be that I’m insensitive or some of the horrid things I’ve been called today but maybe these names will help… would appreciate the feed back. I just wanted to have some fun with my name.”
That online olive branch was both embraced and rejected by Facebook users. By Tuesday, the page was no longer active.


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Last week's ratification by the European Parliament of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive was hailed yesterday by EU health and consumer protection commissioner Markos Kyprianou.
"This law marks a big step forward for consumers and for EU competitiveness," he said. "It boosts the protection consumers enjoy across the EU, while simplifying the regulatory environment for businesses."
In all there are twenty-eight business practices now specifically defined as unlawful, among them ...
Advertising to children
The EU claims that by defining only what should be prohibited rather than telling firms how to go about their business, the law leaves room for business to innovate in developing new, fair commercial practices.
Companies who comply with the rules will be able to do business in all EU countries. Independent economic studies predict the new law will increase consumer choice, stimulate competition and enlarge the horizons of small and medium sized businesses in Europe.
The law is expected to be formally endorsed by the Council of Ministers in the coming weeks and should be implemented EU-wide by 2007.
Data sourced from multiple origins; additional content by WARC staff


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LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Retail investors will continue to miss out on lower trading fees if planned European reforms do not force brokers to show they are getting the best price for trades - as they must do for institutional investors, senior traders warn.
Under current European rules, brokers must demonstrate to clients and the regulator they made the best trade available, known as best execution. This involves linking to multiple trading venues in search of the best price - much like the price comparison websites used to search for insurance or mortgages.
But these principles are ill-defined for retail brokers trading on behalf of individual investors, meaning these brokers tend to link only to the primary stock exchange and their clients could miss out on cheaper stock.
“The retail model has no best execution. Has Mifid addressed the needs of the end retail investor? Not really,” said Kee-Meng Tan, head of electronic trading in Europe at Knight Equity Markets International.
The European parliament is currently planning changes to its 2007 Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) to tighten up how banks and high-frequency hedge funds trade.
But the directive has not and will not in its next guise extend ‘best execution’ to retail traders, prompting calls for a rethink from some quarters.
The larger, tech-savvy trading firms would like retail clients to have the same opportunities to see they are getting the best deal that is currently enjoyed by investors like pension funds - because the firms see themselves winning business.
But rivals, who often lack the resources to offer this facility, argue the current arrangements ensure good returns for clients and that trading away from stock exchanges is risky.
Ian Cornwall, head of regulation at the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers, said: “We are not picking up the message from our members that best execution is a big issue or that their clients are missing out on cheaper trades.”
Cornwall said best execution requires investment firms to take all reasonable steps to obtain the best possible result for their clients, before adding: “Dealing on a regulated exchange is attractive to retail customers because there are defined, default rules whereas different platforms have different rules.”
But some traders insist retail investors would benefit from best execution as much as institutional trading firms, but they have been overlooked because they are a much smaller group than the hundreds of millions of Europeans paying into pension funds.
“Mifid will not make best execution mandatory and there is no guarantee retail investors will benefit,” said Marie-Ange Marx, the Chief Operating Officer of retail broker Selftrade.
The UK’s Financial Services Authority raised doubts over whether retail investors were getting the best deals when it published in October a paper highlighting the practice of brokers choosing venues that offer them financial incentives.
The FSA argued some brokers were sending client trades to venues that were offering less competitive deals for the brokers’ clients in return for secret commissions pocketed by the broker itself.
“Where brokers are routing orders to only those market makers willing to pay for order flow, then the duty of brokers to act in the best interests of clients may be compromised,” the FSA wrote.
Brokers handle on behalf of their clients, which could be private clients or institutions such as pension or hedge funds, orders that they send to exchanges and alternative platforms.
Institutional trading in Europe has changed beyond recognition since Mifid took effect.
Previously, trade in European stocks was dominated by the large domestic exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange , NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse which had effective monopolies over trading.
Mifid paved the way for a swathe of alternative venues, such as Turquoise and Chi-X, technologically driven, pan-European exchanges, which offered lower fees and cheaper shares than the incumbents.
The combination of best execution policies and viable alternative trading systems brought about a fragmentation of European share trading but this competition has been limited to the larger institutional market, rather than the retail business.
“Retail investors are still effectively only trading on the main stock exchanges,” said Michael Buhl, co-Chief Executive of the Wiener Borse, the Austrian stock exchange.
European regulators may be seen to be apathetic but Angela Fenwick, head of the retail hub at Banca IMI, the investment banking arm of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, said client pressure is growing for retail brokers to embrace competition.
To this end, Fenwick said Banca IMI had started trading on Equiduct, the European electronic trading system for retail brokers part-owned by Citadel Securities and Knight Capital Group that claims to offer best execution.
“We have responded to customer pressure and now it is more than just theory, clients can see where the price has improved,” she said.
Niki Beattie, the Chief Executive of trading consultancy The Market Structure Partners, said that clients are likely to be the force for change over the short term at least.
“The regulators may not have woken up to it but clients are now starting to demand best execution and sort the better brokers from the rest,” she said.
The European Commission plans to finalise its Mifid reforms this year with a view to implementation next year.


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The Volkswagen Arteon sits atop VW's lineup as a flagship hatchback without much competition, except perhaps the Kia Stinger. But the German brand reportedly has plans to expand the number of Arteon body styles to include a wagon and a go-fast R model.
The bad news is these two new variants aren't for the US, Car and Driver reported last Friday. A VW spokesperson told Roadshow they couldn't confirm nor deny the news.
The Arteon wagon and R models will play to those looking for more cargo space in Europe and China while us Yanks look on with disappointment. The Arteon R, specifically, should pack a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine good for 330 horsepower. That's a lot more oomph than the standard 2.0-liter turbo-four engine, which makes 268 hp.
VW still plans to usher in some updates for the Arteon in the US, something we learned of last month at the Chicago Auto Show. Car and Driver's report includes some specifics, however, such as some styling tweaks for the 2021 model year that'll extend to the fascia, grille and lighting elements. Under the skin, the all-wheel drive system may also get some updates to make it a better performer. And even though a true Arteon R is unlikely, we'll still have a meaner-looking Arteon R-Line variant to choose from.


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Consumers Closer to New Skechers Reimbursement
Consumers who brought class actions against Skechers for claims that its toning shoes could help them lose weight and provide health benefits are one step closer to receiving some compensation from the company. A federal judge approved a $40 million settlement deal this week allowing consumers who purchased Shape-Ups, Resistance Runner shoes, and Podded Sole shoes to receive compensation.
In its advertising, Skechers claimed the shoes provided health benefits such as weight loss, improved posture, and firmer muscles. But the lawsuits alleged the company did not have any scientific evidence to back up the claims. Sketchers denies the allegations, but in May 2012 agreed to the settlement that consolidated more than 70 lawsuits. More than 500,000 claims were filed for the settlement, which requires that Skechers provide cash reimbursements to consumers who submitted valid claims. The settlement also requires the company pay the attorneys representing consumers a total of $5 million. Any additional money left after consumers have been compensated will go to the FTC.
A year ago, Skechers reached a $40 million settlement with the FTC over the ads. For more information on the 2012 FTC settlement and TINA.org’s view on it, click here.


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The sun is barely up on Wednesday mornings when music lovers begin staking out the best patch of grass for Seal Beach’s free summer concerts Wednesday nights.
But music-lovers aren’t the only ones having turf wars.
Nestled at the base of the pier at Eisenhower Park, the summer concerts series, hosted by the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce, has raised the ire of some Main Street merchants who resent the participation of outside vendors. This week, a handful of merchants lobbied city officials to place a condition on the event that only Main Street or Seal Beach businesses can participate. At Monday’s City Council meeting, chamber officials countered that the summer concerts draw business into Old Town, adding that the businesses protesting the outside vendors are the same that opt not to get involved with chamber events such as the concerts or the annual car show.
“The events do cost money, and it has to come from somewhere,” said Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce President Erik Dreyer-Goldman.
The concerts, which run each Wednesday until the end of this month, draw thousands of people throughout the summer. They are free to the public, and the chamber pays for it by selling sponsorships, advertising and vendor space.
Of the 12-vendors involved in the summer concerts, only two are from outside the chamber, said Dreyer-Goldman. Vendors include a funnel cake booth, a kettle corn booth, and a booth that does decorative feather hair extensions.
“The chamber is the largest event-producing entity in the city,” said Dreyer-Goldman.
“Our events are directly responsible for generating significant revenue for local businesses.”
At Monday’s City Council meeting, Dreyer-Goldman invited Seal Beach merchants to join the chamber in order to have say over how the chamber events are run. He noted that each of the merchants who criticized the summer concerts have chosen not to join the chamber and take part in chamber events.
The suggestion didn’t sit well with Lisa Woodruff, co-owner of on Main Street.
“I don’t think that just because I am not a member, my voice should not be heard. I am not a second-class citizen,” she said. “I just say ‘no’ to having outside merchants on Main Street.”
Woodruff also suggested that the chamber events should do more draw customers in to the businesses on Main Street rather than have them hang out by the pier for the concerts.
“We need to promote events that are going to get people to walk up and down Main Street,’ she added.
Provoked by the feather extension booth operated at the concert by a business from outside the city, several Main Street stylists spoke at the council meeting in opposition to the outside vendors at the concerts.
“We don’t need people from other cities coming to our town and taking our money,” one stylist told the council.
Diana Brunjes, chamber member and manager of on Main Street, said the cost of a booth is worthwhile for Bay Hardware even though they aren’t selling anything at the concerts. At the Bay Hardware booth, they help children build birdhouses. It may not generate instant business, but it helps build relationships with customers and the community, said Brunjes.
Just being there for the community is good for everyone, she said.
While the council didn’t vote on the matter, Mayor Mike Levitt told chamber officials that he would like to the concerts open to Seal Beach vendors only.
TELL US IN THE COMMENTS
Do you think the summer concerts are helpful or harmful to local businesses? What would you do differently, if anything? And which summer concert band has been your favorite so far?
Correction, in an earlier version of this article, the number of concert vendors from outside the chamber was mistaken for the number of vendors outside the city.


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Y’all knew it was only a matter of time before LeBron James dropped an all purple pair of sneakers to represent his Lakers Nation.
Yesterday King James took to his IG page to give sneakerheads the feels by posting pictures of his exclusive Nike LeBron 17’s which come draped in regal purple battleknit, suede, and everything else that goes into making footwear for his majesty. Featuring NBA 2K‘s “2K” stamp on the tongue, the sneakers are expected to be an unlockable feature in the upcoming NBA 2K20 that’s set to drop on September 6.
No word yet on when these kicks will drop or if they’ll even see a release date but best believe if they do that LA fans will be roaming Los Angeles like they just walked through some streets that were flooded with purple rain (R.I.P. Prince).
Check out pics of the LeBron 17 2K’s below and let us know if you’re feeling this latest silhouette from Nike.


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» Download Pes 2014 New Full Transfer Edisi Agustus 128x160 Jar
Download Pes 2014 New Full Transfer Edisi Agustus 128x160 Jar
Download Pes 2014 New Full Transfer Edisi Agustus 128x160 Jar on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Wednesday, April 23, 2014
After going through various rumors and long waits, BlackBerry 10 platform was officially launched at an event in New York, U.S., on Wednesday (01/30) local time.
Quoted from Techradar, Thursday (01/31), BlackBerry 10 straight comes with two new smartphones, [...]
The news about the release of Windows Phone 7.8 update for the Nokia Lumia line of smartphones from the old series yesterday NaviFirm seem right. Nokia Lumia 800 is the first smartphone that will get the updated Windows Phone 7.8 and will soon be followed [...]
Sony is believed to introduce a new generation console, the PlayStation 4, at an event to be held on February 20, 2013.
This info comes after Sony released a teaser in the form of video, the Japanese manufacturer indicated there would be a new console [...]
Electronic Arts (EA) has recently announced a new game highly desirable, Battlefield 4.
Quoted from IGN, the successor to Battlefield 3 game is touted as one of the game First-Person Shooter best would be to use Frosbite 3 Engine-owned DICE.
Engine usage [...]
This feature can be used to create a reminder.
For the Pinterest users, now comes a new feature for the application of various writing and drawing.
Pinterest recently announced Secret Board, which allows the users to be able to make a writing board in [...]
Good news came over the user’s smartphone Sony Xperia J. That is because, the smart phone made by Sony’s got a release update 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Through the release of this time, the Xperia J users can now be able to enjoy the advantages [...]
BlackBerry Live event held in Orlando, USA, Tuesday (14/5), BlackBerry announced their new hero on the BlackBerry 10 platform, the BlackBerry Q5.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Wednesday (15/5), according to a recent leak outstanding, the Q5 is a cheap version [...]
Microsoft has officially announced the successor to the Xbox 360 and named Xbox One. The next question that arises is, what games are ready to present at the console.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Wednesday (22/5), here are some games that are determined to [...]
Theory that claims the existence of super-particles.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland has detected a rare decay of a particle that could undermine the theory of super-symmetry, one of the main theories in physics.
Microsoft said it will display the Xbox 720 or Durango on 21 May. Durango is the next generation of the Xbox 360.
As written on the website Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Campus in Redmond, Washington, United States (U.S.), will be the location of the emergence [...]
A number of games on the App Store and Android Market are sold at very cheap prices.
Approaching the end of the year as this, the lovers of the game spoiled by the vendor.
Following in the footsteps Rovio has staged a massive promo for every game his [...]


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Google Chrome for iOS is receiving an update right after a 4-month hiatus, as per a report. It is an incremental update in Chrome 87 that largely focuses on bug fixes. The update is staying rolled out for iPhone and iPad globally. What is noteworthy about this update is that Google generally releases a refresh each 6 weeks. Having said that, in the situation of Chrome for iOS, the tech giant skipped the release of the Chrome 88 (January) and Chrome 89 (March) upgrades altogether.
As per a report by 9to5Google, the update — Chrome 87..4280.163 — is rolling out now to iPhone and iPad customers through the App Keep. The report also says that this update is compact since no significant troubles have been reported considering the fact that the Chrome 87 release in November.
Apart from bug fixes, the Chrome 87 update also tends to make some tweaks to the App Privacy label. Underneath the Information Linked to You segment, App Performance now consists of the “Name” of the customers. The 9to5Google report says that this is due to the truth that Google Pay out in Chrome calls for this detail to finish a transaction. On top of that, Crash Information and Purchaser Help have been moved below the Not linked to You segment. Google reportedly says that it will assure that it is only collecting information that is needed to give and produce beneficial items and functions.
Google Chrome 90 steady make is scheduled for April 13 release. Just lately, Google launched an update to Chrome that tends to make the World wide web browser speedier and extra safe than ahead of by utilizing HTTPS alternatively of HTTP. Chrome has also been urging the Net to adopt HTTPS for a extended time now. On top of that, if you want to preview new functions in Chrome, you can download Chrome Beta to check out them. Reportedly, Google has been testing Touch/Encounter ID to shield open incognito tabs in Chrome 90.
What is the most effective cellphone below Rs. 15,000 in India suitable now? We talked about this on Orbital, the Devices 360 podcast. Later on (beginning at 27:54), we communicate to Okay Laptop or computer creators Neil Pagedar and Pooja Shetty. Orbital is out there on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.


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- August 14, 2018
Officials at the FDA asked for insights into how the Agency can streamline its regulations late last year. Now, with the comment period closed, the FDA has published details of how companies and trade groups want it to repeal, replace and modify its regulations.
The feedback spans multiple areas of device regulation and ranges from the broad to highly specific. Areas of convergence among some of the big players include opposition to the FDA’s proposed rule on the electronic submission of labeling for certain home-use medical devices. Abbott and medical device trade group AdmaVed were among the respondents to argue the proposal imposes burdens without realizing compensatory value.
“Establishment of an FDA database to maintain device labeling creates a perpetual, onerous and government-funded costly regulatory requirement,” Abbott wrote in its response to the FDA. “Creation and submission of electronic labeling creates a perpetual, onerous and costly regulatory requirement for the industry, which will require the establishment and maintenance of IT systems to produce the SPL-formatted labeling.”
J&J’s response largely echoed submissions from the trade groups BIO, PhRMA and AdvaMed. However, the company also included a bold reimagining of how and when the FDA approves life-saving class III medical devices. J&J wants the Agency to award initial marketing approvals to such devices after they secure European CE marking. That would shift the burden of data generation from pre- to post-market and thereby cut the time it takes for certain devices to reach patients in the U.S.
Other themes picked up by the respondents included the folly of applying unique device identifiers to combination products, the value of deleting paper copy provisions from 510(k) rules and the need to end the practice of updating labels when manufacturers change addresses.
REFERENCE: Fierce BioTech; 12 FEB 2018; Nick Paul Taylor


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Since 2010, tourism has been steadily growing on a worldwide level – despite several terror attacks and political turmoil. According to UNWTO, even in 2015 the number of tourists that visited foreign countries increased by 4.4 percent to a new level of 1.2 billion. What makes this industry grow, what makes it stagnate? Tourism-Review.com brings you the top 5 challenges of tourism industry in the coming months.
Tourism mainly depends on the personal economic well-being of people. The European Union is on its way to recovery and recently reached a new unemployment rate of 9.1, which is the lowest since July 2009. European travel companies thus have a good opportunity this year to get more clients. Travelers from western Europe are expected to once again increase their holiday spending in spite of the weak booking situation in November and December 2015. In the recently finished travel year (cutoff date: October 31st), the German travel association, for example, projected that travel businesses made three to four percent more revenue than the year before. The total turnover increased by roughly one billion Euro to a total of 27 billion Euro. The number of guests increased by one percent.
Another challenge of tourism is, and always have been, the political instability in some regions. For example, Turkey is experiencing firsthand how much of a devastating effect diplomatic problems can have on holiday destinations. After a Russian fighter jet was shot down at the Syrian border, the country has been closed for Russian vacationers. Russian authorities stopped all charter flights and 19 large Turkish travel businesses lost their licenses. In 2014, 4.4 million Russian tourists visited the country at the Bosporus.
According to the WTO, travelers will benefit from the massive drop in oil prices – gas is getting less expensive, which in turn decreases travel expenses. Furthermore, the low oil price is already decreasing the cost of living in Europe. Wherever the income increases faster than the inflation, like in Germany, people have more money to spend. They have more purchase power, which also transfers to vacations. The other side of that coin are however the exporting countries. Their revenue from oil exports are sinking which dampens the economy of these states and leads to less tourism.
One of the greatest challenges of tourism industry has always been the security situation of popular destinations. Acts of terror have been shaking up holiday spots for several months now. In Tunisia, the number of bookings rapidly decreased after the assault on Sousse. After the November attacks in Paris, the demand for trips to the French capital sank as well. Most recently, the assault on Istanbul has shaken up Turkish tourism. However: “Whatever may happen, the effects will always be short-term. Based on our experience with terror attacks of recent years, they generally do not have any consequences in the long run,” said general secretary of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai. Industry experts remain confident: People are still going to travel and will use alternative destinations on a short-term basis.
After the recent terror attacks, some countries have issued travel warnings or restricted flights to the respective destinations. “It is of concern to us that states are issuing travel warnings due to the danger of terrorism,” says Rifai. In doing so, the respective countries become victimized a second time: First, they are shaken by terror attacks and then they have to face international isolation. Moreover, the current refugee crisis around Europe is likely to lead to the renewal of border controls and to the closure of borders which is not helpful to tourism either.


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50 Cent’s Son debuts at the Los Angeles Fashion Week (Photos)
After 50 cent revealed earlier this week that his Two-Year old Son Sire landed a $700,000 modelling contract for Kidz Safe, he made his debut at the Los Angeles Fashion Week.
Sire Jackson modelled for the Isabella Courture.
Proud Dad 50 Cent , was in the front row watching, while his Mum Daphne Joy carried him down the run after he was uneasy.
In an earlier interview with Angie Martinez “[The money] goes into a trust. He can’t even touch it until he turns 18,” he said. “He’ll get $700,000 to be the face of the company. Already, he’s making his own money. He makes his own money!” said 50 Cent.
Culled from Toofab
Start them young..


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Cryptocurrency analyst reveals bitcoin due for surge
Finance expert Carter Worth said a bitcoin trend line shows a “well defined moment of big movement” for the cryptocurrency, which he expected will continue to surge following a tough few months for the BTC as banks and officials faced increased pressure to regulate the digital currencies.
Speaking on CNBC, Mr Worth explained that bitcoin price has fluctuated but shows a long-term pattern of growth. He said: “When you have lower highs and higher lows you, it represents equilibrium and there’s a debate.
“Some love this thing and some think it is, of course, the greatest fraud of all time. But this is going to get resolved violently.”
He added: “I think there’s more to go, so if you had to be long or short, I want to go long here.”
Bitcoin price: Carter Worth said bitcoin is likely to surge
I think there’s more to go, so if you had to be long or short, I want to go long here
Mr Worth also said that his analysis on bitcoin is “identical for the most part” to other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum or ripple. But he added: “This is the one that is going to matter.”
The finance expert dismissed claims that bitcoin is an indicator for the market, saying “it seems like a stretch”.
A recent statement by Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, floated the idea of Nasdaq becoming a cryptocurrency exchange.
The move has been warmly received with one industry analyst saying, "if the blockchain and crypto industry want to attract institutional investors, the only way forward is by established exchanges looking to build their offering, whilst maintaining their best practices from the traditional market."
Bill Harris claims Bitcoin is the biggest scam in history
Bitcoin price was at $9,208.21 at 15:50 (GMT) on Saturday, according to CoinDesk. It saw its highest value before Christmas when it reached the monumental price of just under $20,000.
But digital currency has faced widespread criticism, with former PayPal CEO Bill Harris insisting bitcoin is the “greatest scam in history”.
The founding PayPal CEO believes there is “no store value” in bitcoin and it should “not be accepted as a means of payment” and has no intrinsic value.
Writing in Recode, Mr Harris said: “Okay, I’ll say it: Bitcoin is a scam.
“In my opinion, it’s a colossal pump-and-dump scheme, the likes of which the world has never seen.
Cryptocurrency expert reveals when to buy bitcoin
“In a pump-and-dump game, promoters “pump” up the price of a security creating a speculative frenzy, then “dump” some of their holdings at artificially high prices.
“And some cryptocurrencies are pure frauds.”
Head of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco John Williams also said there are “a lot of problems” with bitcoin.
He told CNBC: "The setup or institutional arrangement around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, first of all, they have problems with fraud, problems with money laundering, terror financing. There’s a lot of problems there.”
Mr Williams said bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies cannot replace the US dollar because they fail the basic test of what a currency should be.


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Mass Adoption Campaign Yielding, Cable Company Declares Support For Verge (XVG)
It is not over for Verge (XVG) as many have thought in the past when the cryptocurrency witnessed series of attacks within and outside the blockchain community. Observers painted Verge different obscene names with claim the altcoin is a big scam waiting to move into nothing else.
However, Verge team keeps on bringing in new developments especially when it invented the mass adoption campaign.
At the moment, Verge has partnered with Panchanko, a company that designs and produces high-end audio cables. The company is known in the music industry for its efforts in producing well-refined audio cables.
Miheal, one of Verge Currency’s core team member, who tweeted about the development said:
This day keeps getting better! A third vendor today has joined the #VergeFam! https://www.pachankostudio.com now accepts @vergecurrency as payment! It’s a company that makes audio cables, well known in the industry. @GirandCHANKING thank you for the support! $XVG #XVG #massadoption.
The company produces USB cables that reveal details of music, making the sound come out naturally with the highest resolution and without any coloration.
Panchanko, is owned by African-born Girand Chan King, whose love for music started at age 8, becoming a self-taught pianist at a tender age. He finished the graduate school as a computer engineer and left Madagascar for La Réunion Island where he explored on how to produce high-end audio cables.
Evolution-Host Adopts XVG.
Evolution Host, a premium VPS Hosting provider now accepts XVG. The host platform which specializes in in game servers, IRCds and mIRC Bot Hosting has been at the fore of developing hosting industry by meeting the needs of its customers with low cost and outstanding services.
Verge tweeted on the latest support:
#VergeFam Check out @EvoHostin – https://evolution-host.com now accepts $XVG #Vergecurrency via @CoinPaymentsNET and offers premium quality #vps, #vnc #gamingserver and #ircd #hosting for as low as 5$.
This development among others will make XVG one of the most widely accepted coins in the tech industry. There is hope that in the nearest future, Verge will be sealing more collaborations to make the cryptocoin stand out.


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Australian scientists and Microsoft Corporation invented a single chip that can generate control signals for thousands of qubits, when the world’s biggest quantum computers currently operate with just 50 or so qubits.
The KSTAR, a superconducting fusion device also known as the Korean artificial sun, set the new world record as it succeeded in maintaining the high temperature plasma for 20 seconds with an ion t over 100 mil degrees.
US-based firm Aevum has unveiled a massive drone called the Ravn X that is designed to act as an autonomous, airborne launch system for small satellites.
The future of work may look a lot like science fiction in a few years as advances in augmented and virtual reality as well as 5G and 6G wireless technologies revolutionize the way we interact with one another digitally.
China sent "the world's first 6G test satellite" into the orbit with a launch of Long March 6 carrier rocket on Friday. The satellite will become "the first technical verification of terahertz communication" tested in space.
The futuristic transport concept involves pods inside vacuum tubes carrying passengers at high speeds. Virgin Hyperloop is not the only firm developing the concept but nobody has carried passengers before.
Roughly 1,000 electrodes will be inserted into the targeted collection of neurons, and those will connect to an implant above the surface of the brain. Musk said that it plans to do initial testing with tetraplegics.
The specific objective of Neuralink is to develop ultra-high bandwidth brain-machine interfaces to connect humans and computers. Practically, this materializes as a chip that is implanted into the brain.
Chinese company CATL says it has new battery technology that lasts up to 2 million kilometers and 16 years—and it’s ready to manufacture the batteries on demand. The battery could power a car for 50 trips around the world.
An ambitious plan to build a quantum computer the size of a soccer field could soon become a reality. A startup founded by the researchers behind the idea has just come out of stealth with $4.5 million in funding.


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The restaurant industry is suffering, as are its food distributors, which are expected to lose $ 24 billion over the next three months alone as the pandemic shuts down and limits restaurant operations in the United States and elsewhere, according to a press release from the International Foodservice Distributors Association. .
âRight now we have heard reports from distributors that activity has declined by up to 50%â¦â IFDA CEO Mark Allen said in the statement. “These are not companies the size and reach of airlines, but family businesses that have endured wars, recessions and other challenges, but who say two weeks will be enough to have a significant impact on their business. business.”
In an effort to reduce the financial impacts of COVID-19, the IFDA and the FMI-Food Industry Association have launched a matchmaking partnership that connects food service distributors with excess capacity (products and capacity to transport and d ‘warehousing) to help food retailers and wholesalers who need additional resources to meet the needs of grocery stores, which are experiencing increasing demand.
IFDA represents the $ 280 billion foodservice distribution industry and the 350,000 people it employs, who deliver food to more than one million foodservice outlets across the United States every day.
Learn more about the effect of the coronavirus on the restaurant industry.


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D3O® partners with Gamebreaker to develop a new range of soft protective headgear for a variety of US team sports for which head protection is not currently mandated.
“Partnering with D3O® takes our soft protective headgear to a whole new level of protection previously thought not reachable.”
D3O® has secured an exclusive partnership with Gamebreaker, the manufacturer of performance protective headgear, to integrate its unique shock absorbing technology into a range of soft protective headgear for a variety of US team sports.
D3O® technology will be integrated into the Gamebreaker protective headgear worn by athletes of all ages and genders in sports including women’s lacrosse and flag football (a non-contact version of American football). Currently the governing bodies of these sports do not mandate the wearing of protective headgear. The partnership between D3O® and Gamebreaker will mean that there will now be head protection available for a variety of US non-contact sports for which head protection is not currently mandated.
Gamebreaker is a leading manufacturer of performance protective softshell headgear in the USA. Involved in sports at all levels for over 25 years, Gamebreaker protective headgear is currently used by men, women and children across America in a variety of team sports from the youth level to the collegiate level. The sports include 7 v 7 football, women’s lacrosse, flag football, field hockey, rugby, soccer, mixed martial arts, water polo, volleyball, and various others.
The new range of soft protective headgear, which is lightweight, flexible and washable, strengthens and expands D3O®’s presence in the sports protection market, particularly in the US, where it is already established as a provider of helmet liners for American Football and Baseball through a partnership with Schutt Sports.
Marcus Hoenig, Head of Advanced Concepts for D3O®, said:
D3O®’s impact protection materials and technology are combining with Gamebreaker’s design expertise to meet a real need in the US team sports market.
Whether in sport or defense, D3O® is committed to applying its technology to help reduce the risk, incidence and severity of brain injuries. D3O® technology in Gamebreaker complements the protection solutions we are already providing for American football players and further strengthens our offering and opportunities in new markets.
Michael Juels, Managing Director of Gamebreaker, said:
Partnering with D3O® takes our soft protective headgear to a whole new level of protection previously thought not reachable. It solidifies our best in class position and promises to our athletes that their safety is our top priority.


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Rightside’s own DJ STATN to perform at NamesCon
By day, Statton Hammock is the VP, Business & Legal Affairs at Rightside and our go-to expert on all things business, legal, and registry operations policy. But in his free time, Statton has a very different hobby—mixing tracks and DJing at events as his alter ego, DJ STATN.
We’re very excited to announce that DJ STATN will be keeping the NamesCon crowds pumped up while performing at the conference’s Sunday Night Cocktail Party!
.PRO is now available for anyone to register
If you’ve had your eye on a .PRO domain, but haven’t been able to meet its extensive list of requirements, then this news is just for you: As of Nov. 16, 2015, .PRO is available for anyone to register!
.LIVE and .STUDIO are here
The long awaited day has finally arrived: .LIVE and .STUDIO are now available for general registration! Individuals, business owners, and more can create memorable primary and secondary URLs with these two distinctive domains. After months of waiting, and a whole lot of anticipation, we cannot wait to see all of the unique and interesting web addresses our customers will come up with using .LIVE and .STUDIO.
Custom domains are now available for Medium writers
Some of the year’s biggest web stories didn’t come from cutting edge journalists or major news corporations—they came from normal people who had an important message to share. Publishing platform Medium is one of the many websites out there that enables this kind of citizen journalism. But now, Medium is doing more: The site is encouraging users to make Medium their main blogging platform by allowing the use of custom domains.
Facebook Notes makes a comeback as publishing platforms take off
Facebook is making a big move by resurrecting an old feature that has been given a new spin: Facebook Notes. As infrequent bloggers and citizen journalists continue to pop up, there has been a decisive need for an easy-to-use platform for hosting and sharing content. Now, Facebook joins the likes of Medium and Tumblr with a tool for sharing long form thoughts, opinions, and stories.
Apple has baked the domain apple.news into iOS 9
We have been seeing a lot of great usage of New Domains extensions recently, including usage from some really big companies. Google just announced their new parent company, Alphabet, will be using abc.xyz, The Hunger Games is using thehungergames.movie. And now Apple has baked the apple.news domain directly into iOS 9 through the new Apple News app. The biggest company on earth has made it so that whenever you share an article through Apple News, the link will be transformed into a shortened apple.news URL. As huge tech nerds with an office full of Apple devices, we are pretty excited to see Apple using a .NEWS domain in such a far reaching way.
Apple.news marks the rise of New Domains
Apple has been a pioneer in the technology industry for years, paving the way for innovation in electronics and software. So it comes as no surprise that Apple is at the forefront of a new type of technology that is changing the face of the internet: New Domains.
Our blog got a makeover
As you may have noticed, the Name.com blog looks a little different! We decided to clean it up a bit and change some things around in the hopes of providing you with a better user experience.
The internet has brought about a new era of technology, creating dramatic changes in the way we share and receive information. Now, anyone with a smartphone can become a blogger or journalist, sharing information with people around the world. But with all the noise this larger community creates, bloggers and traditional news sources are fighting an uphill battle to be heard.
(No, not those tabs, these tabs)
For the past couple of years there’s been a persistent bug on Name.com. It wasn’t a big bad bug that caused the website to break or put any users at risk. It was more of a small annoying UI bug that certainly caused frowny faces, sad pandas, and feelings of frustration for our users.


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A high quality industrial property at Brisbane’s Trade Coast precinct at Hemmant, fully leased to a national food service operator, has been sold for $11.5 million.
The 248 Fleming Road property was sold by Callum Stenson and Shaw Harrison of Savills on behalf of gourmet food distributor Royal CDS, on a sale and leaseback with a new 12 year lease and two further five year options.
The property was purchased by Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) on an 8.3 per cent yield.
The property is set on a total site area of 10,190 square metres and features a gross lettable area of 5,205 square metres across two separate buildings, comprising 16 per cent office, 17 per cent dry storage and 67 per cent cold storage.
The property is utilised as a cold storage food distribution facility by the privately-owned Royal CDS, which is headquartered in Brisbane and distributes gourmet food products nationally to independent supermarkets and foodservice businesses.
Mr Stenson said the Hemmant property provided an attractive investment opportunity in the well positioned and established Trade Coast precinct, underpinned by the security of a long-term lease to a successful national business.
“Industrial properties of this quality, positioning and lease profile rarely become available and are highly sought-after by investors,” he said.


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NC Dinos merchandise proves popular overseasThe NC Dinos, so far the top team in Korean baseball, are also leading everyone in overseas sales of merchandise, data showed Monday.
In response to growing international interest, the KBO launched an English-language version of its official merchandise site, KBO Market, in the beginning of June.
A league official declined to disclose exact sales figures for the 10 KBO clubs, but confirmed that the Dinos have been the most popular team on the KBO Market.
ESPN, the American sports cable giant, has been broadcasting six KBO games per week live since the start of the season on May 5, and KBO games are now available in 130 countries via ESPN's international affiliates. And Korean baseball has been a hit in the United States, with MLB unable to get its season going due to the coronavirus pandemic and squabbles in negotiations between owners and players.
The Dinos, in particular, found unlikely support in the state of North Carolina, since the state's postal abbreviation, NC, is the same as the name of the company that owns the baseball club.
More in Baseball
Prolific base stealer Park Hae-min wants to reclaim his crown
SK Wyverns get Kim Sang-su in sign-and-trade deal with Heroes
New Wyverns manager looks to rebuild after nightmare season
Wiz reliever is first player to seek salary arbitration in nine years
Samsung's 'Moneyball' manager says data approach will work this time


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Müller Corner have announced brand new Christmas 6 packs and a single yogurt both of which are Christmas flavours.
The flavours will be vanilla yogurt which will have gingerbread men and chocolate balls to give a real festive flavour. The new yogurt will be in stores from November 1st and will be available either as a single or in a six pack. The packaging will be Christmas inspired.
Müller Rice will also be releasing a chocolate-orange flavour too which will be released in November.
We can’t wait to try the new Christmas flavours!


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• Leam Comic Con is looking for talented independent comic creators
• Win an exhibitor table at Leam Comic Con 2017 and promotional support
• Creators can enter online from the July 9th up until November 30th 2016
Leamington’s award-winning comic convention – Leam Comic Con – is offering independent comic creators the chance to raise their profile and win a table at the 2017 event.
Launching on Small Press Day 2016 (July 9th) independent comic creators will be asked to enter online and submit a short video about them, the comic and the inspiration behind it.
Dan Mallier, Creator of Leam Comic Con which won him the accolade for ‘Outstanding Achievement’ at Leamington’s Business Awards in 2015, said:
“Leam Comic Con is dedicated to keeping our comic con about comics and a big part of that is supporting small press creators and local talent alongside mainstream comics.
“By launching the Small Press Factor competition will aim to discover talented independent comic book creators and give them a helping hand in promoting their work.”
Entrants must be an independent creator that has published a comic on or after January 1st 2015 and will have until November 30th 2016 to submit their work for judging.
The judging panel, made up of industry experts and enthusiasts, will be rating entries on originality, artwork, lettering and story. The winner will be declared by December 1st 2016.
Small Press Factor Judge, Tony Esmond from downthetubes.net and The Awesome Comics Podcast, said: “I’m excited to help judge the Small Press Factor 2016. Anything that supports the next generation of superstar comic creators is a win in my book.”
The Winner will get a free exhibitor table at the next Leam Comic Con to be held at The Spa Centre on March 25th 2017 as well as promotional support before and during the event.


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Three genetically modified organisms (GMOs) soybean varieties for food/feed uses have been approved by the European Commission and Monsanto has heralded it as a "milestone" for the company.
Monsanto's soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788 and soybean MON 87705 x MON 89788 are two of the GMOs approved. Bayer's soybean FG 72 has also been approved by the Commission.
The three GMOs have gone through a comprehensive authorisation procedure, including a favourable scientific assessment by EFSA. The authorisation decisions do not cover cultivation.
Following the Commissions announcement, Monsanto said that the approval meant that its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans (which are tolerant to glyphosate and dicamba) can now be imported into the EU for food and feed use and that it was a "milestone" for the company.
The Commission’s approval follows Monsanto’s February announcement of Chinese import approval.
With both the EU and Chinese import approvals and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the final stages of review for over-the-top use, Monsanto said it can now look forward to a full system launch in the United States in 2017.
It said that it continues to be in a strong position to supply roughly 15m US soy acres when the selling season arrives.
A full system launch also is planned for Canadian soybean growers in 2017 given the previous Canadian regulatory approval for Roundup Xtend with VaporGripTM Technology and XtendiMax herbicide with VaporGrip Technology, it said.
Brett Begemann, Monsanto President and Chief Operating Officer, said that Monsanto has seen great demand from growers for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans.
"Farmers are telling us they’re looking forward to the benefits of the full Xtend Crop System, including over-the-top use of dicamba and glyphosate.
"We’re excited to give Canadian growers this opportunity in 2017, along with US growers pending final EPA approval," he said.
Earlier this year, the three GMOs approved had received "no opinion" votes from the Member States in both the Standing and Appeal Committees and the Commission adopted the pending decisions.
The authorisations on the GMOs are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's strict labelling and traceability rules.


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Montreal, Quebec – 23 December 2021. Quebec-based AMD Medicom Inc. (“Medicom”), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of surgical masks and respirators, is expanding surgical N95 respirator production capacity in Canada at its recently built plant in Montreal, Quebec. The Medicom SafeMask Architect Pro Surgical N95 respirator has been approved and cleared for use in healthcare settings under the FDA/NIOSH MOU 225-18-006. The additional capacity will be offered to new and existing customers in several new market segments across North America.
“To date, production has been reserved for existing government contracts. We are proud to be able to begin offering surgical N95 respirators that meet the requirements of Title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 84 (42 CFR 84), to additional market segments in Canada and the U.S. We look forward to continuing to provide these high-quality products to protect frontline workers across North America throughout the ongoing pandemic, whenever and wherever they are needed,” confirmed John Tourlas, President, Medicom North America.
The SafeMask Architect Pro respirator has also received CSA certification. Accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), CSA Group’s certification program includes a special-purpose laboratory dedicated to the testing and certification of medical personal protective equipment (PPE), including medical filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), to the specified particulate filter efficiency (PFE) level, as required by Health Canada’s interim order (IO).
As a Canadian manufacturer of medical masks, respirators and other critical PPE, we are proud to produce surgical N95 respirators that meet the stringent standards established by certifying bodies such as the CSA and NIOSH,” stated Guillaume Laverdure, Medicom Group COO. “We take great pride in the protection we provide to healthcare professionals around the world and our certifications attest to our commitment to ensuring the highest levels of quality and reliability for all of the products we manufacture across the globe.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Medicom has been a dependable supplier of procedure masks, respirators and other personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and other frontline workers around the world. Medicom 95PFE-L2 and surgical N95 respirators will continue to be produced at the recently established Montreal mask and respirator manufacturing facility.
About the Medicom Group
The Medicom Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of high-quality, single-use, preventive and infection control products for the medical, dental, industrial, animal health, laboratory, retail and health and wellness markets. Medicom was named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 2021 and received a Mercure Award at the Mercuriades 2021.
Medicom distributes infection control products under the Medicom, Ritmed, Kolmi, Hopen, Ocean Pacific and Hedy brands. Medicom subsidiaries include Kolmi-Hopen in France, Medicom Asia in Hong Kong, United Medical Enterprise in the U.S.A., KHM Engineering in Singapore and Medicom HealthPro Limited in the U.K.
Medicom has extensive experience in responding to the demand for personal protective equipment in the event of a pandemic. Medicom was founded in 1988 in response to the urgent need for medical gloves for healthcare professionals during the global HIV crisis. Since then, the company has been a reliable supplier of infection control solutions during multiple epidemics, including avian flu, SARS, H1N1 and Ebola, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information about Medicom and their comprehensive portfolio of infection control solutions, including an extensive range of medical face masks, please visit Medicom.com, follow us on Twitter @MedicomGlobal or visit pages on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Director, Public Affairs
AMD Medicom Inc.


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At Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the annual gaming conference that took place in Los Angeles earlier this week, the unveiling of Sony's new PlayStation 4 dominated the gaming news cycle.
In addition to fanfare surrounding the much-hyped console, however, there were also several mobile-game announcements and launches this week: A popular Facebook game arrived on mobile, while a well-known social-gaming company launched an action-packed MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena). What's more, some of our beloved movie and television characters made appearances in a few Android and iOS games.
Check out the gallery, above, to see our favorite new and updated games from this week.
Still looking for more? Take a look at last week's Apps You Don't Want to Miss for more great apps worth downloading.
Mashable Composite; image courtesy of iStockphoto ryccio


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IHS Screen Digest announced that, according to its latest research, growing competition from smartphones and media tablets will prevent sales of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld game system from matching the those of the previous generation DS plaform.
For more information visit: www.screendigest.com
Unedited press release follows:
Nintendo 3DS Sales Expected to be Strong—but Won’t Match Previous-Generation DS
El Segundo, Calif., April 8, 2011—Nintendo Corp.’s strategy of promoting the connectivity and local networking features of its newly released 3DS handheld gaming system in the United States will help drive rapid adoption of the device this year—but won’t allow it to match sales of the previous-generation DS platform, new IHS Screen Digest research reveals.
The 3DS’s 3D graphics and its unique approach to network services has prompted IHS to forecast a global installed base of 11.6 million for the device by the end of 2011. While this represents strong performance, growing competition from the iPod, iPhone and Android smart phone and tablets will prevent the 3DS from matching the sales of the previous-generation Nintendo handheld, the DS.
By 2015, IHS forecasts a global installed base of 70 million 3DS devices. This compares to total sales of DS/DS Lite of 91 million at a comparable point in its sales cycle.
“Nintendo’s accent on network services in the key U.S. market represents an attempt to convince users to carry their 3DS systems with them at all times and to engage with the platform everyday and in every place,” said Piers Harding Rolls, lead games analyst at IHS. “This engagement strategy, alongside 3-D graphics, camera and video, is key to Nintendo competing with upcoming devices from Sony and also from non-specialist smart phones, entertainment devices and tablets, which offer a legitimate alternative to handheld consoles.”
Nintendo previously announced similar services in both Europe and Japan.
3DS offers networking features
Among the connectivity features of the 3DS is StreetPass, a local networking function that allows players to interact with one another through their devices. Players are sent new challenges and content by other users that are passing by. They also can exchange game data such as high scores and game characters. The local network connectivity is meant to encourage users to carry their 3DS with them on their travels and to instill some “magic” around the 3DS community.
Nintendo also is highlighting SpotPass, a 3DS Wi-Fi capability. SpotPass enables the handheld console to connect automatically to wireless local area networks and Wi-Fi hotspots, with content updates pushed to devices even during sleep mode. Furthermore, Nintendo has announced a nationwide deal with AT&T to offer free 3DS user access to more than 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing players to obtain free content updates.
Netflix agreement boosts platform’s appeal
Nintendo also has entered into a deal with Netflix to showcase the networked services of the 3DS for U.S. customers.
The agreement will allow movies and 3DS trailers to be streamed to Netflix customers on the 3DS, extending Nintendo’s current arrangement with the bestselling Nintendo Wii TV console. Furthermore, a Nintendo curated short-form-video service offering comedy and music videos also will be made available.
Through these various efforts, Nintendo hopes to leverage what it feels are the unique aspects of the display and connectivity features of the 3DS. The connectivity will be essential for various forms of distribution, while the automatic connection to networks and exchange of content with local users will emphasize the social aspects of the device. In turn, the social functionality will be a core aspect in convincing consumers to use the 3DS on a regular basis and take advantage of the platform’s ability to compete with other similarly connected devices while consumers are on the move.
How 3DS stacks up to against the last generation
The 3DS was released in the United States on March 27 with a price of $249.99. A total of 15 games were set to be available on the same day of the rollout, according to the Nintendo website. 3DS game prices for the U.S. market will average $38.60 this year, reflecting a premium charged for 3-D games, according to IHS Screen Digest estimates.
Nintendo holds a leading position in the specialist handheld games sector, following the very successful DS platform, which at the end of 2010 had sold 136 million units worldwide since appearing in 2004.
Learn more about this topic with IHS Screen Digest Games Intelligence.
About IHS Screen Digest Products & Services
IHS Screen Digest products and services cover global media markets including film, television, broadband media, mobile media, cinema, home entertainment, gaming and advertising. IHS Screen Digest offerings deliver the most complete and insightful analysis of the global technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) markets. More information is available at www.screendigest.com.
About IHS (www.ihs.com)
IHS (NYSE: IHS) is a leading source of information and insight in pivotal areas that shape today’s business landscape: energy, economics, geopolitical risk, sustainability and supply chain management. Businesses and governments around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS employs more than 4,400 people in more than 30 countries around the world.


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Warehouse automation is on an upward trend largely due to the rise in e-commerce and omni-channel retail. Jim Hardisty, Managing Director for Goplasticpallets.com examines growth predictions for the warehouse automation market and the important role that plastic pallets play in the ‘next generation’ supply chain.
According to ABI Research, by 2025, 28% of warehouses will be automated with robots compared to just 3% in 2018. This is driven largely by the e-commerce revolution – increased consumer demand for rapid, accurate and cheap deliveries of online orders.
In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has also spurred a surge in warehouse automation. It has allowed supply chain managers to maintain and increase production levels, without compromising the safety of their workers. A survey by Interact Analysis reported that warehouse automation vendors have seen an increase in grocery warehouse automation project tenders in the past two months, as a direct result of Covid-19.
The same survey that interviewed over 40 of the leading warehouse automation system integrators, suppliers and end-users, predicted a 98.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate for piece-picking warehouse robots – a rise made possible by continuing advances in machine vision, gripping systems and mobile navigation technology.
Increased adoption of automation in warehouses presents a strong argument for using plastic pallets; ones that offer 100% size and strength consistency and do not have nails or loose component parts that risk jamming and stalling automated handling systems.
The next generation supply chain
It is not just automation that companies are looking to invest in moving forwards; the digitization of the supply chain has huge growth potential.
In a report by market research firm, LogisticsIQ, it predicted that the ‘next generation’ supply chain will be worth over £59 billion by 2030. This encompasses everything from robotics and automation to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), drones and other digital technology.
Take IoT for example, by the time 2021 arrives it is predicted that 35 billion IoT devices will be installed worldwide; that is a phenomenal number of ‘things’ connected to the Internet – everything from home appliances and voice assistance to vehicle-to-vehicle communication and robots for surveillance.
According to Swedish IoT market research firm, Berg Insight, sensor-equipped pallets are predicted to become increasingly crucial in IoT enabled supply chains; they have even gone as far as ranking them as the most promising greenfield IoT opportunity!
Pallet selection is key!
With any form of new technology comes an initial investment, which means that pallet selection is key. The strength and durability of a plastic pallet is unrivalled when compared to wood. In normal handling and loading scenarios a plastic pallet can last up to 10 years, and sometimes longer.
For those businesses investing in their own pool of plastic pallets, one concern that often comes up is the location and dwell time of pallet stock; where slow returns post-delivery suggest that the pool needs to be far larger than it actually does.
Of course, closer monitoring of your pallet pool – for instance using RFID technology – can reduce your pool size by as much as 20%, demonstrating a real reduction in your initial investment.
For advice on using pallets in automated systems, call our team of plastic pallet experts on +44 (0)1323 744057, email firstname.lastname@example.org or use the online chat.


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Video: Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for the Epic Second Season of “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory” from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HitRecord, Premiering Globally on Friday, September 30
The second season of the animated epic takes Wolfboy, voiced by Kassian Akhtar, to a new realm underneath the Everything Factory where Nyx attempts to lure him to the dark side.
[via press release from Apple]
Apple TV+ debuts trailer for the epic second season of “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory” from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HITRECORD, premiering globally on Friday, September 30
Apple TV+ today released the trailer for the second season of beloved hit “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory,” premiering globally on Friday, September 30.
The second season of the animated epic “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory” takes Wolfboy, voiced by Kassian Akhtar, to a new realm underneath the Everything Factory where Nyx attempts to lure him to the dark side. With his Spryte friends and new allies, Wolfboy engages in a quest to unite the forces of creation and destruction, and realizes that being different is what makes him special – and ultimately, it’s the oddballs and dreamers who change the world.
“Wolfboy and the Everything Factory” is inspired by the work of visual artist Toff Mazery, co-created with Emmy Award winner Edward Jesse (HITRECORD’s “Create Together”), developed by Emmy winner Michael Ryan (“All Hail King Julien,” “Kung Fu Panda”), and executive produced by Emmy Award winner Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Mr. Corman”), HITRECORD and FOX Entertainment’s Bento Box Entertainment.
In addition to Akhtar as the titular Wolfboy, the series is voiced by Critics’ Choice Award nominee Archie Yates (“Jojo Rabbit”), who portrays Sprout, Lilly Williams as Xandra, Cristina Milizia (“DC Superhero Girls”) as Floof, Abigail Estrella (“Alice’s Wonderland Bakery”) as Seth and Gordon-Levitt voicing Professor Luxcraft. The series is peppered with a number of special performances, including Juno Temple (“Ted Lasso”) as Nyx.
The award-winning slate of original series and film for kids and families on Apple TV+ includes the recently premiered groundbreaking series “El Deafo,” critically acclaimed “Amber Brown” created by Bonnie Hunt, and Common Sense Media Selections “Best Foot Forward,” “Duck & Goose,” “Surfside Girls” and “Life By Ella.” The impressive all-ages offerings also include “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” and “Harriet the Spy” from The Jim Henson Company, the Peabody Award-winning series “Stillwater,” Daytime Emmy Award-winning “Ghostwriter” and “Helpsters” from Sesame Workshop, Academy Award-nominated animated film “Wolfwalkers,” new series and specials from Peanuts and WildBrain including “The Snoopy Show,” as well as “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” the Daytime Emmy Award-winning television event based on the New York Times best-selling book and TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers. Apple TV+ continues to present young viewers and their caregivers with first-rate options including the upcoming series “Jane,” a new mission-driven series from J.J. Johnson, Sinking Ship Entertainment and the Jane Goodall Institute.
Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honored with 275 wins and 1,152 award nominations and counting, including this year’s Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL, and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.* For more information, visit apple.com/tvpr and see the full list of supported devices.


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Market Intelligence firm Counterpoint is estimating a 20-25% drop in November and further decline in December. Month-on-month sales is usually down straight after Diwali, but the downside this year could be sharper given that peak demand in the lead up to the festival was the highest ever, analysts say.
“September usually records the highest shipments as brands begin stocking up for festive sales. But after Diwali sales there is an immediate drop which is close to 20-25%,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint.
Re-commerce firm Cashify said that in November, business is already at a third of its peak which was the second day of Flipkart’s Big Billion festival in October. “The general trend in the festive season is that the Diwali sales, backed by discounts and deals, witnesses 2-3 times of usual business and an equal drop immediately after Diwali, and the next month the demand normalises,” said Ashwini Bhadoria, VP - Exchange Programs & Alliances, Cashify.
“So talking about Cashify, right now, we are at one-third of business of our peak days, which was the second day of the Flipkart Big Billion Sale,” he said
Top brands including Xiaomi, Vivo and Realme have all reported their highest ever Diwali sales this season while Apple recorded its highest ever shipments in the July-September period even before the launch of its flagship.
“Mainline retailers were anyway witnessing Black Diwali this year with sales having declined by 50%. October was the worst month for us, there was some pick up in November because of Diwali but now its again heading towards the worst,” said Arvinder Khurana, President of mobile retailers association which represents 150,000 stores pan-India.
He said that the biased support of smartphone brands, who are channeling stocks to Amazon and Flipkart is the reason for a 50% drop and even banks are responsible, having given 10% instant cashback exclusively to e-tailers.
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- RBI Asks Paytm to Reapply for Payment Aggregator Licence
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked Paytm to reapply for a payment aggregator licence within 120 days in response to its initial application.Festive Season not Over for EV Cos as Sales Hit Top Gear
The festive season may have ended but festivities are continuing for electric vehicle (EV) makers with November sales likely to match the record set last month amid Navratri and Diwali seasons.Oyo Ebitda Sees 8-fold Jump in Q2, Loss Narrows to ₹333 cr Sequentially
Hospitality chain Oyo reported an adjusted ebitda of ₹56 crore for the September quarter, up from ₹7 crore in the preceding three-month period.
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Since March, as the COVID-19 outbreak in China was basically under control, the resumption of society around the country has been steadily pushed forward, and SPAR Chinese members have vigorously pushed forward their new store opening plans for 2020.
With the COVID-19 outbreak gets severer around the world, Europe has become the epicenter of the pandemic. As of March 30, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has exceeded 710,000. SPAR member companies in various countries around the world are making unremitting efforts to meet the needs of thousands of people from communities around the world.
In December 2019, SPAR China partners boosted their expansion by opening another 10 new stores, to prepare the best quality products, sincerest service and most comfortable shopping experience, to welcome the Year of 2020, and the upcoming Chinese New Year of Mouse!
For the first time, SPAR China presented through exhibition to the China retail industry, that SPAR, the world's largest voluntary retail chain, has grown globally since its establishment in 1932, and since entering China in 2004, 15 years steady development.
SPAR Shandong Jiajiayue Jinan HuaxiaFudi Store, with a sales area of 10,000 M2, opened on September 26th! Located on Huayuan Road, the center of Lixia District of Jinan City, the store has the Lixia software park across the road, the University of Shandong behind, and is surrounded by high-end communities, office buildings, convenient transportation, and crowds of people and traffic.


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THE decision by the Reeves family not to redevelop its riot-destroyed furniture store site opens the way to a new project to help the regeneration of Old Town.
The firm belief that a comprehensive redevelopment of the site at Reeves Corner is best for Croydon has come from Maurice Reeves, chairman of E. Reeves Ltd.
The family announced last week its intention to surrender the lease it has with the Whitgift Foundation on about half the site, while retaining its freehold on the rest.
Mr Reeves told the Advertiser the decision had been taken to spend money on securing the future of the business in its other premises opposite the so-called island site.
He said: "We have not got hundreds of thousands of pounds to put up to build a new shop from scratch."
There was no point anyway, he said, in building on just the half of the site they owned.
Mr Reeves said: "We have got to concentrate on running the shop we have left.
"Since the fire the community has supported us greatly and we think this is the correct way to go for us and for Croydon."
The business was on a viable footing and meant Reeves could continue to serve the borough as it has done for the past 145 years.
Mr Reeves said the decision would leave the Whitgift Foundation unencumbered in how it used its land.
It also enabled the family to play a part in influencing any overall redevelopment ideas which might arise out of the Old Town Masterplan.
They might include, he thought, a mixture of housing and new retail or even attractive green space at what is a key gateway to the town centre.
The idea of a mixed housing and retail development for the whole site is also likely to figure in the Whitgift Foundation's thinking.
Martin Corney, clerk to the Foundation, said: "We have had discussions with the Reeves family for some months and they have said they won't want to go back on that site.
"We are now taking further advice on what options there are for redeveloping that area."
He added: "The site forms part of the Old Town Masterplan and I think things will start progressing in the next few months."